Fire Ravages West Newton Street Apartments

A two-alarm blaze that erupted shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Thursday morning has caused massive damage to several apartments at 86 West Newton Street, across the street from the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts.

Residents lined the fence of as firefighters cut open the roof of the five-story brick apartment building and smashed windows to gain entry to the third floor. The fire spread to the fourth floor of the building, and smoke could be seen emerging from the windows of adjacent units.

The main body of the fire was knocked down around 11:40 a.m., according to a tweet from the Boston Fire Department.

No injuries were reported, and all residents were successfully evacuated from the area. Shortly before noon, one cat remained missing as firefighters continued to work inside.

The fire was sparked by a plumber's torch, fire officials later confirmed. The plumber was working in the bathroom of the second floor apartment.

One woman, who lives next door to the apartment, said the plumber quickly alerted neighbors to the sparks, although many had already realized that something was wrong.

“I could see the smoke coming through my walls,” she said. “We banged on doors, got everybody out.”

Residents of the burned building were offered shelter inside the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. Temperatures hovered around 47 degrees, and some wore only t-shirts. Nine residents were displaced from the six apartment affected, the fire department reported.

Damage was estimated at $400,000.